FTSE set to follow US, Asian markets lower

23 March 2018, 06:42

Source - SMW

The FTSE 100 is expected to fall sharply at the start of today's session, following the steep decline on Wall Street overnight and on Asian markets this morning.
Trade war fears escalated overnight, in relation to China, which prompted the negative reaction on global equity markets.
The FTSE is expected to follow suit, with financial spread betting firms calling the index around 67 points lower on open.
OVERSEAS MARKETS
In the US overnight, the Dow ended 724.42 points lower at 23,957.89, the S&P 500 fell 68.24 points to close at 2,643.69 and the Nasdaq was down 178.61 points at 7,166.68.
In Asia this morning, the Nikkei 225 fell 4.65%, or 1,003.46 points, reaching 20,588.5 heading into the close.
The Hang Seng was down 936.64 points at 30,134.41 and the Shanghai Composite was 115.51 points lower at 3,147.97.
COMMODITIES
WTI crude was 1.03% higher at $64.96 per barrel and Brent was up 0.86% at $69.5 per barrel.
Gold was 0.83% firmer at $1,344.2 per ounce, silver was up 0.75% and copper was down 0.61%.
CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Interim Results: Smiths Group.
Final Results: Henry Boot, John Laing Infrastructure Fund and Next.
AGM's / EGM's: Milestone Group.
ECONOMIC RELEASES
BOE Quarterly Bulletin.